A Whole New World

Hello out there in the Disney world! Wow, it’s been a full month since my last post and that means my trip to Disney has come and gone! In case you missed my last article, go check it out considering it is the precursor to this one! If you did read it but need a little refresher, I talked about doing things differently and trying new things on my upcoming trip. After going many times in my life, I was going solo for 10 days and I wanted to try some new and different things. I am here to report that I was successful in this attempt! I had a short list of things I had intended to do while there and this was it.

• Country Bear Jamboree

• Swiss Family Robinson Tree House

• Tom Sawyer Island

• Eating a Mickey Bar on Main Street in the middle of the day

• Standing in line at Expedition Everest to enjoy Joe Rhode’s beautiful creation

• Watching the shows over at Hollywood Studios

• Sitting in the lobby of the Wilderness Lodge and winding down

• Slowing down and taking in the little things that most people overlook

As far as my list was concerned, I actually did rather well! I watched Country Bear Jamboree in an almost empty theatre, I did Swiss Family Robinson TWICE, I sat (and napped!) in the lobby at Wilderness Lodge, and I slowed down in general while on my trip. Sadly, I did not get to venture onto Tom Sawyer’s Island, I didn’t watch any shows at the Studios, and I wasn’t able to stand in line at Expedition Everest. I was halfway successful in eating my Mickey Bar on Main Street USA. That is actually, a sad story. I searched for an open vendor during EMH one night for a Mickey bar. I finally found one as well as an empty bench at the partner statue in front of the castle. I got one good bite out of my Mickey bar, and PLOP! It fell onto the ground. While I was terribly sad (and hungry!), I still attempted to mark that off my list. It’s the thought and effort that counts right?!

The biggest thing I found myself doing differently was taking afternoon naps. I’m not going to lie, they are not allowed on trips to Disney World. However, this time I was forced to relax a little more due to a health condition. Naps were an easy way to get a second wind as well as to keep myself energized enough to even be able to hit the parks. I also took the Wild Africa Trek tour (I highly recommend this tour) which was another first for me. There was one thing though, that stood out to me, that I did differently this trip. I did a LOT of character meet & greets. I had so much fun doing these! Since I was by myself, it was a great way to capture moments of my trip with me in the picture but it was also a way to return to the essence of Disney. Some of my most favorite pictures from Disney while growing up are pictures with characters. Stopping to take the time to stand in line helped me to renew a new sense of Disney I haven’t experienced lately.

While I did not keep to my list of things I wanted to do, I did complete quite a few of them. I experienced Disney in a whole new way once again and it brought a new sense of magic! I think that is one of the most beautiful things about Disney. You can go a million times and you will always find something new each time. I had some pretty magical moments thanks to a few cast members as well. People look at me like I am a lunatic when I talk about going back to Walt Disney World. They can’t fathom why I would want to go AGAIN and so close to the previous trip. I just smile and even if they don’t get it, I know the secret. I could spend every day there and find something new on a ride I’ve ridden a thousand times, or a cast member can make a trip so special, or just being there can lift your spirits and reenergize you. The magic of Disney is that no matter how you go about your trip, there’s always a new treasure to discover or new magic to experience. I hope each and every one of you push yourselves in a new way on your next Disney adventure wherever it leads you. You won’t regret it! It makes a world we know and love so much, a whole new world!

7 thoughts on “A Whole New World”

Hi Mary! Great post… my condolences on the poor Mickey Bar! You will have to do a post on the Wild Africa Trek; I’m really interested in doing that. Glad you were able to get some rest this time! That’s not an easy task when vacationing at Disney!

Hey Kathy! Thanks! That Mickey Bar was such a sad little situation! I don’t think I’m over it yet! I should have fixed it by buying another one, but alas, I did not! I did get rest this trip. Looking back I want to kick myself because really it’s not “allowed”. However, I had no choice. I have some funky kidney issues and stay dehydrated constantly. The only way I could stay out pretty much all day was if I took mini naps throughout the week. I stayed at Wilderness Lodge so I was in a pretty central location for transportation so that helped. The days I didn’t take naps were days I struggled and they then caused me to nap longer the next day. I finally figured out if I took an hour and a half nap a day, I could get around a lot easier! Whew!

Hello Mary,
I have done a solo trip as well and really enjoyed it. A slower pace, no bargaining or compromises. It didn’t even bother me to do table service meals by myself, there is always good people watching. Now when I go to WDW with someone I like to take some time apart to shop or just be on my own for a bit.

Yes! I don’t think a trip will be the same now! I will have to venture out solo at least a bit! I didn’t mind eating solo either – I did a character breakfast almost every single morning! I made friends easily so that helped! Glad I’m not the only one who enjoyed a solo trip!

Hey Kathy! I will definitely do a future post on it! It was such an incredible experience! I was lucky & caught the value season price – still hefty – but worth it! I highly suggest it to anyone! Worth saving up for!

Thank you guys so much! The Mickey Bar situation was a heartbreaking one (and it usually happens that way for me!) .. but, there will (Hopefully) be many more opportunities in the future! I would love to write about the Wild Africa Trek! I may do that soon! I was fortunate that after several days down there I had a lot of cool things happen. Definitely enough for several posts! I will use some here, but there are so many, I may write some on my personal blog! I will keep you all updated! Thank you again for all the kind comments! Still can’t believe I’m apart of the WDW Fan Zone family!